HB 1264 – Fertility Fraud

I believe that HB 1264, introduced by Rep. Pressel” is of the “ripped from the headlines” genre of legislating. Not that I disagree with it: it makes it a felony for a physician who treats a patient for infertility to use the physician’s own sperm or eggs without the patient’s consent or to use donated human reproductive material without the consent of the donor. It also provides a civil cause of action by the woman who was impregnated or her surviving spouse against the physician. The person can recover their attorney’s fees, costs of fertility treatment, and actual damages or $10,000 (whichever is greater). (Seems like that $10k should be higher.) It also delays the time for bringing prosecution based on how long it takes the State to reasonably discover that the fertility fraud has been committed.